1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lamp sockets and more particularly to a lamp socket in a housing which is adapted to be located in a wet/humid environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common to include some form of underwater lighting to enhance the night time effect of swimming pools, spas, fountains and the like. The usual method of providing the desired artificial light is to provide a watertight housing for an incandescent or halogen bulb. A common method of providing the light is to locate a housing in the floor of a fountain or in a vertical wall of a swimming pool. The lens of the housing is usually mounted to be flush with the floor of the fountain or the wall of the swimming pool. A gasket is provided to form a watertight seal between the lens and the housing body and the lens is designed to be separated from the housing body to permit the light bulb to be changed. The conventional underwater light is designed to use a flood type of incandescent bulb typically having a relatively high wattage.
A difficulty associated with a light bulb socket in a water tight housing is that the socket in the housing is normally exposed to a high humidity environment which contributes to corrosion of the electrical conducting paths. Thus, except for the electrical contacts between the bulb and the lamp socket, all other electrical contacts and conductive paths must be water tight. The sealing of the electrical contacts and conductive members of the socket is important to prevent shorting between the conductors, corrosion of the electrical contacts and the prevention of water forming a conductive path between the socket and the housing to insure that a person that comes in contact with the water around the housing will not receive an electrical shock.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved socket which can be used in a high humidity environment.